Trivago and Booking Slash TV Ads and 12 Other Digital Trends This Week

>>Trivago and Booking.com have dramatically reduced their U.S. TV advertising. Trivago is doing so to try to stem losses, and Booking.com, which last year indicated it would lean into TV advertising, may be trying to tighten control of some marketing costs: Trivago and Booking Slash U.S. TV Ad Spending

>>It’s so rare to see something new in online travel. Expedia’s Add-On Advantage appears to be a new wrinkle, and HotelTonight’s Today’s Daily Drop is a flash sale variation that disappears within 15 minutes. Both give hoteliers new ways to target travelers, who may find some good deals in the process: HotelTonight and Expedia Offering New Twists on Hidden Hotel Deals

>>Cvent wants to make it easier for customers to use a variety of its tools, in order to leverage the wide spectrum of data it collects on attendee behavior. Owing to the complexity of its platform, this remains a work in progress: Cvent’s CEO on the Future of Event Experience

>>Where Cvent leads, the rest of the event technology sector follows. That said, no one has yet to win out when it comes to emerging technologies like augmented reality and better solutions for sourcing small events: Cvent Predicts a Tech Shakeup Looms

>>Think of travel tech giant Sabre as being like an orchestra. CEO Sean Menke has been like a conductor replacing lead players and changing the tune. So far, investors like what they hear: Sabre Sees Gains After Tech Investment Turnaround

>>Corporate confidence is high, so more meetings are taking place offsite. This is putting pressure on planners to source and plan events more efficiently, so many are turning to mobile tools to help: Meeting Planners Turn to Mobile Tools for Event Sourcing

>>Qantas, Serko, and Corporate Travel Management are leading the charge toward new distribution capability adoption in Australia, promising better access to rich content. They will have to overcome plenty of confusion in the market, however, before the new distribution channels are fully accepted: Corporate Travel Sector Eyes a New Distribution Model Down Under

>>Corporate travel has embraced new distribution capability in fits and starts, mostly because the global distribution systems have been slow to integrate the technology. Australian companies, however, have seen the wisdom of taking a forward-looking approach: Australia Looks to Future of Distribution

>>The hidden tale behind TripAdvisor’s anemic revenue growth is that the online travel companies that had heavily advertised on it and similar platforms have decided to trim that spending to improve on their margins rather than chase growth. TripAdvisor executives said they planned to do the same. Quailty growth is the new new thing: TripAdvisor Sees Decline in Hotel Shoppers After Travel Industry Advertising Reset

>>In an interview, Travelport CEO Gordon Wilson strikes an optimistic tone for his company and for the negotiations at large over the fate of Britain’s relationship with the European Union. We’ll see if his confidence will be borne out by events: Why Travelport’s CEO Isn’t Worried About Brexit

>>DHISCO is not a barn burner of a hot internet company. But its acquirer RateGain has the hallmarks of becoming one in travel tech. DHISCO CEO Toni Portmann deserves praise for rescuing a company born from a troubled private equity carveout: RateGain Buys DHISCO to Expand Its Hospitality Distribution

>>Hear from executives at Hilton, United, Kayak, and more in our videos from Skift Tech Forum: Skift Tech Forum 2018 On-Stage Videos Are Now Live

>>Flipping property management companies may become the new house flipping — if larger startups like Hostmaker start acquiring smaller ones, as we expect they will: Rental Management Firm Hostmaker Raises $5 Million: Travel Startup Funding This Week